Hei Inge,
Mitt navn er Inger(-Johanne Tveten) Anderson, og jeg er medlem av Brubyen Lodge i Saskatoon. Vi har i lengre tid utvekslet medlemsblad, og jeg håper du har et visst inntrykk av hva vi driver med her. Dessverre er norskkunnskapene heller dårlige blandt medlemmene, så vi har ikke hatt den samme muligheten til å vite hva dere gjør. Men nå er jeg blitt utnevnt til å raportere om Leiv Eiriksson’s gjøren og laden.
Jeg er født og oppvokst i Olso men har bodd i USA og Canada siden 1962. Sist sommer tilbrakte jeg mesteparten av juni hos min søster i Larvik og fikk “oppdatert” språket litt. Og det hjalp godt da vi i oktober hadde besøk av Sverre Mørkhagen.
Jeg har ingen problemer med å lese/skrive norsk, men jeg foretrekker nå å skrive på engelsk p.g.a. de norske vokalene some trenger en macro å fremstille.
So if you don’t mind, I will write to you in English, but you are welcome to respond in Norwegian.
We had our first 2011 meeting in Brubyen Lodge last night, and I gave the members a summary of your programs and activities, also indicating just where you are located within the Norwegian geography. They were very interested, as up to now, little information had reached them. However, there were no rogalendinger in the group.
I am a quite new member of Sons of Norway, having long resisted due to the exclusionary name, but in my old age I have become less judgemental. In the meantime, since the 1980s I have been a very active member of the Saskatoon Norwegian Cultural Society Inc in the city. SNCS has a different mandate than the SoN, and we operate a Norwegian language school for children and adults as well as hosting a Norwegian Pavilion at the annual multicultural “FolkFest” celebration in our city. Whereas SoN has regular monthly meetings, SNCS has special meetings, such as social event related to the language school, 17.mai and our annual Norwegian language Christmas service. In many of those activities we cooperate actively with Brubyen Lodge, especially on 17.mai, which we alternate arranging (this year it is Brubyen’s turn). In addition to these two organizations there is also a Scandinavian Club in Saskatoon, whose purpose is purely social, with monthly dinners with dancing. and where there were no members from Rogaland at the lodge meeting last night, there are a number of them in the SNCS, especially from Karmøy. They even built Skudesnes Church about an hour’s drive from here.
Which brings me to one of the items in one of your newsletter where you discuss the possibility of a North American tour in 2012. If you pursue the suggestion of Alaska (plains trains and ships), a visit to Saskatoon would not be impossible. At the Lodge meeting last night, I was authorized to make a suggestion to that effect. We would be so happy to meet you! Yes, there are enormous distances, but it is quite possible. I have personally (with my husband) travelled from here to Alaska and back in our motorhome and Alaska State Ferries. And Mørkhagen, on his recent tour of North America, included both Alaska and Saskatoon (Saskatoon is on the VIA rail line between Vancouver – Edmonton – Saskatoon – Winnipeg and points east). The summer is a wonderful time i our area, and the Lodge has a special day trip in July to a farm home about two hours from here – games, barbeque and lots of “god drøs.” In August we have the above mentioned FolkFest, where you can eat, shop and be entertained in 25 – 30 countries during the 3-day event. I hope this mey be something to think about for Leiv Eirksson Lodge!
I have just received the link to your latest newsletter but has not yet read it. I am looking forward to it!
In the meantime, I hope you have a good meeting, and please give our best to your members. We do enjoy getting Budstikka, especially now that we have established the translation strategy.
Fraternally/Med vennskaps hilsen
Inger Anderson, Brubyen Lodge
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